Mark of AthenaREAL CHAPTER1Source from youtube
by iampureboyandlovespercabeth
Summary: Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can't blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon.


**DESCRIPTION:**

**Coming Oct. 2, 2012. **

**Page count: 580**

**Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the **_**Argo II**_**, she can't blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.**

**And that's only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: **_**Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. **_**Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find—and close— the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?**

**Annabeth's biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he's now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side.**

**Narrated by four different demigods, **_**The Mark of Athena**_**is an unforgettable journey across land and sea to Rome, where important discoveries, surprising sacrifices, and unspeakable horrors await. Climb aboard the **_**Argo II**_**, if you dare. . . .**

**The Mark of Athena**

Until she met the exploding statue, Annabeth thought she was prepared for anything.

She paced the deck of the Argo II, checking and double checking the ballistae to make sure they were locked down.

She confirmed the white flag was flying from the mast.

She reviewed the plan with the rest of the crew and the backup plan and the backup plan for the backup plan.

Most importantly, she pulled aside their war-crazed chaperone, Gleeson Hedge and encouraged him to take the morning off in his cabin watching reruns of mixed martial arts championships.

The last thing they needed flying a magical Greek Trireme into a potentially hostile Roman Camp was a middle-aged Satyr in gym clothes waving a club and yelling, "DIE! "

Everything seemed to be in order; even that mysterious chill that she'd been feeling since the ship launched seemed to have dissipated for now.

The warship descended from the clouds, but Annabeth couldn't stop second guessing herself. What if this was a bad idea? What if the Romans panicked, and attacked on sight?

The Argo II definitely did not look friendly.

Two hundred feet long with a bronze-plated hull, flaming metal dragon for a masthead, mounted repeating crossbows fore and aft, and two rotating ballistae mid-ship that could fire explosive bolts powerful enough to blast through concrete.

Well, it wasn't the most appropriate ride for a meet and greet with the neighbors.

Annabeth had tried to give the Romans a heads up. She asked Leo to send one of his special inventions, a holographic scroll, to alert their friends inside the camp.

Hopefully the message had gotten through.

Leo had wanted to paint a giant message on the bottom of the hull: "Waz - up!" with a smiley face, but Annabeth had vetoed the idea. She wasn't sure the Romans had a sense of humor.

Too late to turn back now.

The clouds broke around the hull, revealing the gold and green carpet of the Oakland Hills below them.

Annabeth gripped one of the bronze shields that lined the side of the starboard railing. Her three crewmates took their places.

On the stern quarterdeck Leo rushed around like a madman, checking his gauges and wrestling with levers.

Most townsmen would have been satisfied with a pilot's wheel, or a rudder. Leo had installed a keyboard, a monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet, a dub step soundboard and motion control sensors from a Nintendo Wii.

He could turn the ship by pulling the throttle, fire weapons by sampling an album, or, he could raise the sails by shaking his Wii controllers really fast.

Even by demigod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD.

Piper paced back and forth between the main masts and the ballistae practicing her lines.

"Lower your weapons," She murmured, "We just want to talk."

Her charmspeak was so powerful the words flowed over Annabeth, filling her with the desire to drop her dagger and have a nice, long chat.

For a child of Aphrodite, Piper tried really hard to play down her beauty. Today she was wearing tattered jeans, torn sneakers and a white tank top with pink hello kitty designs.

Maybe a joke, though Annabeth could never be sure with Piper.

Her choppy brown hair was pleated down one side with an eagle's feather, and then, there was Piper's boyfriend, Jason.

He stood at the bow, on a raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him. His knuckles were white on the hilt of his sword. Otherwise, he looked calm for a guy who was making himself a target.

Over his jeans and his orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, he donned a toga, and a purple cloak, the symbols of his old rank as Praetor.

With his wind-ruffled blond hair and his icy blue eyes, he looked ruggedly handsome and in control, just like a son of Jupiter should.

He'd grown up at Camp Jupiter, so hopefully his familiar face would make the Romans hesitate to blow them out of the sky.

Annabeth tried to hide it, but she didn't completely trust that guy. He acted… too perfect. Always following the rules, always doing the honourable thing. He even looked too perfect.

In the back of her mind, she had this snagging thought. _What if this was a trick and he betrays us? What if we sail into Camp Jupiter and he says, "Hey Romans, check out these prisoners and this cool ship I brought you!"_

Annabeth didn't think that would happen, still, she couldn't look at him without getting a bitter taste in her mouth.

He'd been part of Hera's forced exchange program between the two camps. Without warning, Hera had plucked up Percy Jackson, Annabeth's boyfriend, wiped his memory and sent him to the Roman camp. In exchange, the Greeks got Jason.

That wasn't Jason's fault, but every time Annabeth saw him, she remembered how much she missed Percy. Percy, who might be below them right now. Oh gods, panic welled up inside her, she forced it down. She couldn't afford to get overwhelmed now.

'_I'm a child of Athena,' _She told herself, _'I have to stick to my plan, and not get distracted.'_

And then she felt it again. That familiar shiver, as if an evil snowman had crept up behind her and was peering over her neck. She turned, but of course, no one was there. It must be her nerves.

Annabeth wished she could pray to her mother for guidance, but that wasn't possible. Not since last month, when she had the worst encounter with her mom ever, and gotten a terrible, terrible present.

The cold pressed closer. She thought she heard a faint voice in the wind, like laughter. Every muscle in her body tensed. Something was about to go terribly wrong. She almost ordered Leo to reverse course, and then, in the valley below, horns sounded.

The Romans had spotted them.

Annabeth thought she knew what to expect. Jason had described Camp Jupiter to her in great detail. Still, she had trouble believing her eyes. Ringed by the Oakland Hills, the valley was at least twice the size of Camp Half-Blood. A small river snaked around one side and curled toward the center like a capital letter _G, _emptying into a sparkling blue lake.

Directly below the ship, nestled at the edge of the lake, the city of New Rome gleamed in the sunlight. She recognized landmarks Jason had told her about-the hippodrome, the coliseum, the temples and parks, the neighborhood of Seven Hills with its winding streets, colorful villas, and flowering gardens.

She saw evidence of the Romans' recent battle with an army of monsters. The dome was cracked open on a building she guessed was the Senate House. The forum's broad plaza was pitted with craters. Some fountains and statues were in ruins.

Dozens of kids in togas were streaming out of the Senate House to get a better view of the _Argo II. _More Romans emerged from the shops and cafes, gawking and pointing as the ship descended.

About half a mile to the west, where the horns were blowing, a Roman fort stood on a hill. It looked just like the illustrations Annabeth had seen in the military history books-with a defensive trench lined with spikes, high walls, and watchtowers armed with scorpion ballistae. Inside, perfect rows of white barracks lined the main road-the Via Principalis.

A column of demigods emerged from the gates, their armor and spears glinting as they hurried toward the city. In the midst of their ranks was an actual war elephant.

Annabeth wanted to land the _Argo II _before those troops arrived, but the ground was still several hundred feet below. She scanned the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of Percy. Then something behind her went BOOM!

The explosion almost knocked her overboard. She whirled and found herself eye to eye with an angry statue.

"Unacceptable!" he shrieked.

Apparently he had exploded into existence, right there on the deck. Sulfurous yellow smoke rolled off his shoulders. Cinders popped around his curly hair. From the waist down, he was nothing but a square marble pedestal. From the waist up, he was a muscular human figure in a carved toga.

"I will _not _have weapons inside the Pomerian Line!" he announced in a fussy teacher voice. "I _certainly _will not have Greeks!"

Jason shot Annabeth a look that said _I've got this._

"Terminus," he said. "It's me. Jason Grace."

"Oh, I remember _you, _Jason!" Terminus grumbled. "I thought you had better sense than to consort with the enemies of Rome!"

"But they're not enemies-"

"That's right," Piper jumped in. "We just want to talk. If we could-"

"Ha!" snapped the statue. "Don't try that charmspeak on _me, _young lady. And put down that dagger before I slap it out of your hands!"

Piper glanced at her bronze dagger, which she'd apparently forgotten she was holding. "Um . . . okay. But how would you slap it? You don't have any arms."

"Impertinence!" There was a sharp POP and a flash of yellow. Piper yelped and dropped the dagger, which was now smoking and sparking.

"Lucky for you I've just been through a battle," Terminus announced. "If I were at full strength, I would've blasted flying monstrosity out of the sky already!"

"Hold up." Leo stepped forward, wagging his Wii controller. "Did you just call my ship a monstrosity? I _know _you didn't do that."

The idea that Leo might attack the statue with his gaming device was enough to snap Annabeth out of her shock.

"Let's all calm down." She raised her hands to show she had no weapons. "I take it you're Terminus, the god of boundaries. Jason told me you protect the city of New Rome, right? I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of-"

"Oh, I know who _you _are!" The statue glared at her with its blank white eyes. "A child of _Athena,_ Minerva's Greek form. Scandalous! You Greeks have no sense of decency. We Romans know the proper place for _that _goddess."

Annabeth clenched her jaw. This statue wasn't making it easy to be diplomatic. "What exactly do you mean, _that _goddess? And what's so scandalous about-"

"Right!" Jason inturrupted. "Anyway, Terminus, we're here on a mission of peace. We'd love permission to land so we can-"

"Impossible!" the god squeaked. "Lay down your weapons and surrender! Leave my city immediately!"

"Which is it?" Leo asked. "Surrender, or leave?"

"Both!" Terminus said. "Surrender, then leave. I am slapping your face for asking such a stupid question, you ridiculous boy! Do you feel that?"

"Wow." Leo studied Terminus with professional interest. "You're wound up pretty tight. You got any gears in there that need loosening? I could take a look."

He exchanged the Wii controller for a screwdriver from his magic tool belt and tapped the statue's pedestal.

"Stop that!" Terminus insisted. another small explosion made Leo drop his screwdriver. "Weapons are _not _allowed on Roman soil inside the Pomerian Line."

"The what?" Piper asked.

"City limits," Jason translated.

"And this entire ship is a weapon!" Terminus said. "You _cannot _land!"

Down in the valley, the legion reinforcements were halfway to the city. The crowd in the forum was over a hundred strong now. Annabeth scanned the faces and . . . oh, gods. She saw him. He was walking toward the ship with his arms around two other kids like they were best buddies-a stout boy with a black buzz cut, and a girl wearing a Roman cavalry helmet. Percy looked so at ease, so happy. He wore a purple cape just like Jason's-the mark of a praetor.

Annabeth's heart did a gymnastic's routine.

"Leo, stop the ship," she ordered.

"What?"

"You heard me. Keep us right where we are."

Leo pulled out his controller and yanked it upward. All ninety oars froze in place. The ship stopped sinking.

"Terminus," Annabeth said, "there's no rule against hovering _over _New Rome, is there?"

The statue frowned. "Well, no . . ."

"We can keep the ship aloft," Annabeth said. "We'll use a rope ladder to reach the forum. That way, the ship won't be on Roman soil. Not technically."

The statue seemed to ponder this. Annabeth wondered if he was scratching his chin with imaginary hands.

"I like technicalities," he admitted. "Still . . ."

"All our weapons will stay aboard the ship," Annabeth promised. "I assume the Romans-even those reinforcements marching toward us-will also have to honor your rules inside the Pomerian Line if you tell them to?"

"Of course!" Terminus said. "Do I look like I tolerate rule breakers?"

"Uh, Annabeth . . ." Leo said. "You sure this is a good idea?"

She closed her fists to keep them from shaking. That cold feeling was still there. It floated just behind her, and now that Terminus was no longer shouting and causing explosions, she thought she could hear the presence laughing, as if it were delighted by the bad choices she was making.

But Percy was down there . . . he was so close. She _had _to reach him.

"It'll be fine," she said. "No one will be armed. We can talk in peace. Terminus will make sure each side obeys the rules." She looked at the marble statue. "Do we have an agreement?"

Terminus sniffed. "I suppose. For now. You may climb down your ladder to New Rome, daughter of Athena. _Please _try not to destroy my town."


End file.
